Jersey City school district applies for $6 million grant, but union balks

Journal file photoLincoln High School in Jersey City, which has applied for a $6 million grant.

The Jersey City school district's application for a $6 million federal education grant has raised the hackles of the teachers union.

"My issue is with the manner in which the proposal was made -- without the cooperation of the union, school faculty, or parents," said Jersey City Education Association President Thomas Favia of the competitive School Improvement Grant.

If approved, this three-year grant would give Lincoln High School $2 million a year through 2014. The grant, however, has stipulations that call for longer school hours and 50 percent of teachers being removed from Lincoln.

At the May 25 Board of Education meeting, Ron Greco, a crisis intervention teacher, said that faculty signatures were collected under false pretenses.

"The teachers signed an attendance sheet at a meeting (in March) where this grant was announced," said Favia, adding that the attendance sheet was then attached to the application that was submitted to the New Jersey Department of Education.

"The document implies that (the district) conferred and discussed this program with the union and received input from us. That's just not true."

School district spokeswoman Paula Christen said the teachers' signatures were required to complete the application that was submitted on April 26.

The signatures were collected at two meetings with teachers -- first on March 7 as part of a faculty meeting; and then the next day when teachers filled out a needs assessment survey, she said.

But, she said, the roughly 130 signatures collected only indicate that faculty members had the opportunity to give input, stressing, "it wasn't an endorsement" of the application.

The sheets that the faculty members signed has a statement printed at the bottom that states: "The signature does not assume full approval of the needs assessment and application development. Rather, the signature denotes participation."

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Lincoln High is considered a Tier 1 school in need of improvement because of low test scores, Christen said.

"The Turnaround Model was chosen, which requires rehiring no more than 50 percent of the staff and the school year must be extended by 300 hours," she said. "The focus for the grant is for Lincoln to become a Leadership Academy."

Favia argues that adding hours to the classroom schedule would require approval from the union. If the district attempts to take unilateral action, Favia said his union will file a grievance and take the matter to court.

"If you want to go outside the teachers' contract, bring in the union -- they need to negotiate with us," he said.

District officials expect to hear before the end of the school year if the district will receive the money.